Concurrent airborne communication methods and systems

ABSTRACT

Aircrafts or unmanned air vehicles flying near Earth are used as airborne communications towers or relays. Using techniques of ground based beam forming and wavefront multiplexing enhance the ability to coherently combine the power of the communication signals, and improve the signal-to-noise ratio.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. provisional application Ser.No. 61/537,343, entitled “Apparatuses, Methods, and Applications ofWavefront Multiplexing (13 topics),” filed Sep. 21, 2011.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure describes exemplary embodiments on the construction,operation and use of concurrent airborne communication methods andsystems such as for troubled situations.

BACKGROUND

During emergencies, disasters, wartime, equipment failure or othertroubled situations, the regular communications structures such aswireless cell phone towers, satellite dish, Internet, etc., may becomedamaged or suffer a power outage in one region, but still operatenormally in another region. For example, if Louisiana has a hurricaneand its communication infrastructure fails, Texas may still be fine andits communications equipment remains operable. It would be useful toutilize the working communications infrastructure (e.g. base stationsand central hubs) in Texas to communicate with the victims and rescueworkers in Louisiana. Unfortunately, direct wireless (e.g. near theline-of-sight) or other communication between the Louisiana victims andthe Texas hubs may not be feasible because of the great distance, orbecause people do not have satellite-compatible phones. Thus, victims inLouisiana may be left with little communication mechanisms. Moreover,even in situations where there is no disaster, it is sometimesadvantageous to utilize the communications infrastructure in otherareas, for example, when there is a circuit overload in one major city,but not in other areas; or when there is equipment malfunction in oneregion, but not in another. Additionally, for military or missing personpurposes, or in remote areas, where there are no existing stationarycommunication towers, it is beneficial to be able to use theinfrastructure that exists in other areas. Therefore, it would bevaluable to have methods, systems and apparatuses to address these andother problems.

DRAWINGS

The drawings depict exemplary embodiments and are not intended to belimiting in scope and may not depict objects to scale.

FIG. 1 depicts a communication architecture using airborne vehicles ascommunications towers.

FIG. 2 depicts a block diagram of communications equipment onboard oneaircraft.

FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of another embodiment of thecommunications equipment onboard one aircraft.

FIG. 4 depicts a communication scenario for one un-manned air vehicle(“UAV”) and users located in a foreground region.

FIG. 5 depicts another operational communications scenario with multipleUAVs.

FIG. 6 depicts another operational communications scenario with multipleUAVs.

FIG. 7 depicts another operational communications scenario with multipleUAVs.

FIG. 7 a depicts a block diagram of an embodiment of a forward link thatincludes wavefront multiplexing.

FIG. 7 b depicts a block diagram of an embodiment of a return link thatincludes wavefront multiplexing.

FIG. 8 depicts a block diagram of communications electronics on anairborne vehicle in communication with a ground based beam formingfacility (GBBF).

FIG. 8 a depicts another block diagram of communications electronics andretro-directive antennas on an airborne vehicle in communication with aGBBF.

FIG. 8 b depicts another block diagram of communications electronics onan airborne vehicle with a beam forming network and retro-directiveantennas.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure describes embodiments of roving communication towers,which comprise un-manned airborne vehicles (“UAV”) carryingcommunication equipment that substitute for the role of wirelesscommunication towers or cellular sites and WiFi or base stations thatnormally would have been operational in the local area (“foreground”area). Although the disclosure focuses on UAVs, manned airborne vehiclescan also carry the equipment especially if a pilot wishes to haveequipment that can operate on auto-pilot. In one embodiment, multipleUAVs act as roving communication nodes having equipment that operateconcurrently with the communication devices (e.g. smartphones) in aforeground area and also with the still-operational communication anddata networks in a background area (e.g. another city or state).

With respect to the foreground region, the UAVs communicate with thedevices such as personal handsets and computers used by the victims orspecial communications equipment used by rescue workers in theforeground area. The UAVs have multi-beam arrays and electronics tosimultaneously collect information and transmissions from many sourceslocated in the foreground area, while rejecting noise and interference,to help as many victims as possible in as wide an area as possible. TheUAVs have onboard beam forming or beam shaping techniques to strengthencommunications with people in the foreground area. Alternatively, in thebackground region, the UAVs have equipment to communicate with (link to)hubs and networks and ground based beam forming facilities (“GBBF”)located in the background area. Data transmission to either theforeground or the background can be computationally intensive, consumingmuch bandwidth, and power, which is simplified in one embodiment byusing wavefront multiplexing techniques to perform the data packing andtransmission to the ground hubs. Wavefront multiplexing (“WF MUX”) costeffectively is utilized in some embodiments to perform systemcalibration or to transmit information securely. Or, together with beamforming techniques, WF MUX can also be used to enhance the signal overthe noise or over interference. These and other techniques are used invarious embodiments.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the physical configuration ofa communication architecture 100 that covers two geographic regions, theforeground area or region 130 (also “user segment”) and the backgroundarea or region 132 (also “ground segment”). Air vehicles or UAVs 120(also “airborne segment”) are flying mostly over the foreground area130; they are flying well below the altitude where they would enter anorbit of the Earth where they would constitute satellites. As such, theUAVs 120 are cost effective, readily fly up and down from and around theEarth like an airplane and do not have to be launched into an orbit.Although there can be any number of them, three aircrafts areillustrated, M1, M2, and M3. The proximity of the borders of theforeground area 130 and the background area 132 is in the range ofapproximately 0 to 1500 kilometers (Km), depending on the signalstrength, the altitude at which the UAVs 120 fly, or environmentalfactors. The zero-kilometer refers to a scenario where the foreground130 and background 132 are adjacent neighborhoods. The signaltransmission strength is increased using WF MUX and beam formingtechniques in various embodiments as described below.

In the embodiment of communication architecture 100 of FIG. 1, threeUAVs 120 have equipment that performs three separate communicationfunctions. Each UAV 120 carries different equipment, but the UAVs 120operate concurrently and each subset of equipment serves differentpurposes or perhaps some redundant purposes in order to serve as abackup. Alternatively, the three separate functions are placed onto onelarge UAV, but in FIG. 1, three small UAVs 120 M1, M2, M3 are deployed.Presently, UAVs 120 can range in shape and size from a sphere of an inchin diameter to a huge airplane of many yards in length and width. InFIG. 1, M1, M2 and M3 are less than 5 ft in length and width and weighless than 100 pounds even with the equipment they carry. Such smallerUAVs 120 are cost effective and consume less power, such as less than200 Watts, which should allow them to remain in the air for at leasttwelve hours to provide continuous communication service in real time.In another embodiment, UAVs are decreased in size or have more featuresor consume less power.

In one embodiment, the equipment or payloads on the different UAVs 120are different; the equipment on M1 enables networks for communicationsin public safety spectrum among members of rescue team; the equipment onM2 restores resident cell phone and/or fixed wireless communications atL or S band; and the equipment on M3 includes real time surveillance.For example, M1 carries the subset of electronic equipment forcommunications with or among rescue team members in the foreground area130. The rescue workers may carry devices that operate in the emergencyfrequency bands and/or in the regular cellular frequency bands so thatM1 communicates with the rescue team in a wide range of frequencies. M2carries the subset of equipment that replaces the wireless cell towersor base-stations or IP networks for consumer and residentialcommunications via their mobile phones or personal communicationsdevices with WiFi, CDMA, GSM, DSL, fiber optics and so on. The equipmentincludes antenna arrays and transceivers. As such, M2 can communicatewith the mobile phones and personal devices through the S or L frequencybands. Residents in the foreground 130 are thus provided with temporarycommunications via their own personal devices to the outside worldthrough the equipment on M2. M3 carries imaging and surveillancesequipment such as cameras, optical sensors, infrared or microwavesensors to capture images of the foreground area 130 in daylight ornight. To reduce interference or to communicate with a more distantbackground area 132, UAVs 120 should fly above the terrestrial weatheraltitude such as over 5 Km above the foreground area 130.

In FIG. 1, M1, M2, M3 communicate through a wireless link 112 with aground hub 110 located in the background area 132. The wireless link 112is designated as the “background link 112.” The communicationfrequencies used by M1, M2, M3 to the ground hub 110 are the same andare the Ku and/or Ka and/or S band or some other band that is perhapsbackwards compatible with existing UAVs 120 or bands where the FCC hasset lower auction fees. The wireless background links 112 between M1,M2, and M3 and the ground hub 110 have transmissions all in the samefrequency, e.g., Ku and/or Ka or S bands.

In various embodiments, ground hub 110 comprises communicationsprocessing center in a building or truck. Ground hub 110 comprisescomputers or processors and external antennas, three of which are shownin FIG. 1. Some processing functions of ground hub 110 includetelemetry, tracking, data transmission and reception, and control of theUAVs 120. In FIG. 1, ground hub 110 also has a gateway to terrestrialnetworks 102 that permit people to communicate with or to monitor thesituation in the foreground area 130. For example terrestrial networks102 comprise a telephone system, a local area network or Internet andcomputers to process images photographed by M3. As a result, people suchas rescue works in a foreground area 130 will have access to real timeimaging, and communications among co-workers and dispatching centersconnected by the hub 110.

The embodiments of FIG. 1 and some of the other figures include at leastthree technologies (1) retro-directive array (2) ground based beamforming facilities, and (3) wavefront multiplexing and demultiplexing(WF MUX), all of which are described in more detail later, with a briefdescription given here:

Briefly, retro-directive antenna arrays (e.g. FIG. 8 a, radiatingelement 1100) onboard the UAVs 120 transmit and receive data through thebackground links 112 and enable the UAVs 120 to communicate with theground hubs 110 in the background area 132 more effectively, using lesspower, reaching hubs 110 that are farther away, or providing more datathroughput. A retro-directive antenna array 1100 can transmit signalsback in the same direction they came from, and in one embodiment, array1100 comprises multiple antennas that detect signals from differentdirections, and selects the strongest signal.

Beam forming techniques control the radiation pattern, shape anddirection of a signal affecting the directional reception sensitivityand/or transmission efficiency of antennas. For example, a signal may beencoded with information so that the signal is broadcasted based on aconfigurable shape in a selected direction. As a result, a more powerfulsignal or one with an improved signal over noise spectrum can betransmitted to an end-user. In the embodiment of FIG. 1, a GBBF facilityis located in the background area 132 and it performs the computationsand modulation, coding of the amplitude and phase of a signal. Thesignal and encoded information is transmitted to the UAVs 120 that thenamplify and transmit the signal concurrently down to users or rescueworkers located in the foreground area 130. The UAVs 120 have multipleon-board array elements to coherently radiate (transmit) the signal tothe users and rescue workers. In this example, the UAVs 120 serve as arelay of the beam formed signals, and this transmission scenario withouton-board beam-forming algorithms and/or electronics is sometimesreferred to as “remote beam forming.” By not having the beam formingelectronics on the UAVs 120 reduces the size, weight and powerconsumption of a UAV 120.

The third technology, WF MUX, serves multiple purposes in differentoperational scenarios. For example, WF MUX aid calibrating theelectronics and the background links 112 between a hub 110 and the UAVs120. In the ground hub 110 receivers, WF MUX methods also play a role incoherently combining the signal power from different UAVs 120 so thatthe ground hub 110 receives a stronger signal. WF MUX also serves togenerate secure data transmission if different UAVs 120 or differentchannels on one UAV 120 are utilized concurrently.

In another embodiment, the techniques described herein combined ornested by modifying the configuration depicted in FIG. 1. For example,it is possible extend the signal distance range from the UAVs 120 to abackground region 132 such as from Louisiana to New Mexico, instead ofmerely Louisiana to Texas—by adding additional relays. There is anetwork of airborne flying vehicles. Instead of a direct link connection(background link 112) between the UAVs 120 and ground hub 110, one setof UAVs 120 act as relays and transmits to another set of UAVs 120 thatthen links to a ground hub 110. These networks of relays may beairborne, ground based, and/or satellite based. In this manner abackground region 132 and a foreground region 130 is linked togethereven if they are very far apart.

FIG. 2 depicts an exemplary embodiment of the communications equipment200 onboard an aircraft or UAV such as M2 to relay communications to andfrom users A, B, C, D (e.g. victims, rescue workers), among themselvesin the foreground area 130. In addition, equipment 200 enablescommunications between foreground users A, B, C, D and the ground hub110 in the background region 132. The embodiment of FIG. 2 includes beamforming technology onboard M2 rather than having a GBBF facility in thebackground area 132.

Equipment 200 comprises mostly electronic circuits and antennas, and themechanical housing. Equipment 200 is used in both the return link andthe forward link communication. The direction in the return link is fromthe users in the foreground area 130 to a background area 132, or fromleft to right as depicted in FIG. 2. The direction in the forward linkis from a background area 132 to a foreground area 130, or from right toleft as depicted in FIG. 2. Equipment 200 comprises three sections, aforeground input module 210 (e.g. operating at L/S frequency band) thatis electrically connected to a frequency converter module 220 (e.g. fromthe L/S frequency band to the Ku/Ka frequency band) that is electricallyconnected to a background input module 230 (e.g. at the Ku/Ka frequencyband). Other embodiments of equipment 200 substitute other possibleoperational frequency bands for the foreground input module 210, such asfor the rescue workers who have devices that receive and transmit at 4.9GHz that is presently reserved for public emergency services. Also,users A, B, C, D in the foreground 130 are assumed to have devices thatoperate in the L or S frequency band because most people have tri-bandcellular phones or WiFi equipment that operate in these bands. But thesefrequency bands serve to illustrate these embodiments; other frequencybands may be utilized instead.

A multi-beam antenna 217 has many antenna array radiating elements 217 a(e.g. six are shown in FIG. 2) in the foreground input module 210. Asexamples, the multi-beam antenna 217 includes a beam-forming network(BFN) and also a set of array elements 217 a that may be implemented asplanar arrays, reflector antennas, phased arrays, radiators and so on.The antenna array elements 217 a are used for transmission both in theforward links (from background 132 to M2 to foreground 130) andreceptions in the return links (from foreground 132 to M2 to background130). The input and output nodes of the multi antenna array elements 217a are electrically coupled to the beam forming network module BFN 211that is electrically coupled to beam ports 212 that is electricallycoupled to diplexers 213. The diplexers 213 operate such that in theforward link direction, the beam ports 212 are electrically connected topower amplifiers 215. In the return link direction, beam ports 212 areelectrically connected to low noise amplifiers LNAs 214 because theinput signals from the return links in the foreground 130 are often weakand should be amplified.

The frequency converter module 220 (e.g. transponder) comprises at leasttwo pairs of frequency translation units, one for the forward link andone for the return link. The forward link band pass filters and thenfrequency down converts signals from the Ku/Ka band ( 14/30 GHz) to theL/S band (½ GHz). The return link units up convert the frequencies fromthe L/S band to Ku/Ka band. This frequency conversion is due to thechoice of frequencies selected to transmit signals on the backgroundlinks 112. If the transmission to the hubs 110 were also operating inthe L/S frequency band, then a converter module 220 is usually notneeded, other than perhaps some band pass filtering to reduce high orlow frequency noise and interference.

The background input module 230 comprises two groups of beam signals. Inthe return link direction, the multiplexers 231 combine the beam signals(two shown) in the Ku/Ka band into a single signal stream; the singlesignal stream is then amplified by a power amplifier PA 233, thenduplexed by an antenna diplexer 234 before being radiated by thebackground-link antenna 236. As an example, the background-link antenna236 is a high gain tracking beam antenna that is pointed to a ground hub110. Antenna 236 is mounted on M2, as M2 flies above the foregroundregion 130. Alternatively, the background-link antenna 236 is a low gainantenna that is omnidirectional, which sometimes simplifies the trackingmechanism or reduces costs, but has a shorter range.

Similarly for signals in the forward link direction, the background-link112 (or feeder-link 112) signals received by the antenna 236 and I/Oduplexer 234 are conditioned by the LNA 235. The demultiplexing devices232 separate the beam signals by frequency grouping the conditionedsignals (FDM demuxing). The grouped beam signals are separated intovarious beam-ports 212 before they are translated from the Ku/Kafrequency band into an L/S frequency band by the frequency convertermodule 220. These down converted signals are amplified by poweramplifiers PA 215 in the foreground input module 210 before beingradiated by the multi-beam antenna 217.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2 and other figures, the multiplexers 231 andthe de-multiplexers 232 perform frequency division multiplexing (FDM).However, in other embodiments, the muxing/demuxing functions of 231/232are configured for other schemes such as for time division multiplexing(TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), or some combinations of FDM,CDM and/or TDM.

In operation, the circuits of FIG. 2 enable both return link and forwardlink communications through the equipment on a UAV 120 such as M2 thathas coverage over the foreground area 130. M2 provides a relay mechanismfor communications among users (A, B) and (C, D) who are located in twobeam regions 1302 and 1303, respectively. M2 also relay signals betweenthe foreground area 130 and background area 132. There are no switchingor connecting mechanisms among users A, B, C, and D, nor on M2'scommunication equipment. The switching or connecting functions areperformed by the ground hub 110. Also, M2 carries a beam forming networkBFN 211 to direct and shape the transmitted/received signals. Forexample, BFN 211 comprises analog circuits to concurrently shaperadiation patterns focusing various beam signals to different outputtransmission beam regions 1301, 1302, and 1303. For instance, the firstsignals in a first beam port 212 in transmitting mode are directed to afirst beam region 1301, second signals in a second beam port 212 aredirected to a second beam region 1302, and third signals in a third beamports 212 are directed to a third beam region 1303. In one embodiment,first, second and third signals are radiated in a same frequency slotbut delivered, concurrently, by the BFN 211 to three separated beamregions.

As an operational example with respect to FIG. 2, M2 acts as a rovingcell tower over the foreground region 130. User A in beam region 1303sends a data string to a user D in beam region 1302 through theequipment 200 on M2. User A uses a cell-phone or other portable device.M2 detects the data string via its multi-beam antenna 217. The datastring is amplified by a LNA 214, filtered and frequency convertedtranslated by frequency converter module 220, power amplified by PA 233and then radiated by the ground-link antenna 236 in the Ka or Kufrequency band. Hub 110 detects and receives the data stream from M2 andassigns the stream to a forward link beam port, through which the datawill be delivered back to a desired receiving user D in the beam region1302 in foreground 130.

As another example of operation that may occur concurrently with theactions of users A and D, another user C in beam region 1302 sends adifferent data string to a user B in beam region 1303. On M2, theforeground input module 210 detects the data via the multi-beam antenna217; the data is amplified by a LNA 214, filtered and frequencyconverted in 220, then power amplified at 233 and then radiated by theground-link antenna 236 to hub 110. The hub 110 assigns the receiveddata stream to a second one of the beam ports 212, in the forward link,that delivers the data to the desired receiving user B in beam region1303.

In the forward link direction, M2 and its electronics provide one-wayforward communications such as for broadcasting or multicasting. As anexample, the forward link performs mobile communications using theon-board beam forming network BFN 217. M2 can also relay information ordata or a broadcast that comes from the terrestrial networks 102,through a gateway hub 110, then through equipment 200 on M2, finally tomobile users in the foreground region 130. The data or broadcast isdesignated for a forward link beam port, where the data was up-loadedvia the background-link 112 and detected by the background-link antenna236. The detected signals are conditioned via LNA 235 and band passfiltered before being FDM demultiplexed to a common intermediatefrequency by a demultiplexer 232. The demultiplexed components comprisedifferent beam signal streams for various beam ports 212 of themulti-beam antenna 217.

FIG. 3 depicts another exemplary embodiment of the communicationsequipment 300 onboard an aircraft M2 to relay communications to and fromusers A, B, C, D (e.g. victims, rescue workers) among themselves andwith a hub 110 in the background area 132. The configuration andelectronics equipment 300 depicted in FIG. 3 is similar to that of FIG.2 (equipment 200). However, in FIG. 3, the communications equipment 300does not have an on-board beam forming network. Rather, there is aground based beam forming GBBF facility 104 in the background area 132.GBBF facility 104 and hub 110 perform many functions of an on-board beamforming network such as encoding the signals transmitted to M2 toinclude beam shape, modulation, and other information.

In FIG. 3, the embodiment of the onboard multi-beam antenna 217 a nowhas many individual array radiating elements 217 b that operate toreceive and transmit signals such as in the L/S frequency bands. Antennaelements 217 b are used for both transmission in the forward links andreception in the return links. The inputs/outputs of the antenna 217 aare the radiating element ports 312 that are electrically connected tothe diplexers 213. The diplexers 213 operate such that in the forwardlink direction, the radiating element ports 312 are electricallyconnected to power amplifiers 215. In the return link direction,radiating element ports 312 are electrically connected to low noiseamplifiers LNAs 214. Only two channels are shown, and similarly only twopairs of channels are shown in the frequency converter module 220, butthere can be additional channels in other embodiments. Much of the restof the electronics such as the background input module 230 are similarto that shown in FIG. 2, except for the GBBF facility 104 that isdescribed later on with respect to FIGS. 4, 5, 8, and others.

FIG. 4 depicts an exemplary communications scenario with only one airvehicle M1 a that flies to cover the foreground region 130 and alsocommunicates with a ground hub 360 in the background area 132. FIG. 4 isused to illustrate various tasks or missions that a single air vehiclecan undertake, such as a relay mission, broadcast or multicast mission,or RF receiver mission, all of which are discussed in turn in thefollowing paragraphs. Using one air vehicle to perform multiplefunctions may simplify possible coordination or synchronization issueswith other air vehicles.

For a relay mission, the air vehicle M1 a relays communication signalsamong people such as the residents or rescue workers located in theforeground area 130, and also to the outside, with ground hub 360 in thebackground area 132. In the foreground area 130, the people may havedevices, phones, laptops, radios, pagers, etc., that operate in the L/Sfrequency band or C band frequencies that are reserved for public safetyemergencies. In the background area 132, the people have ground hubs 360that receive and transmit information at some other frequency such asthe Ka or Ku band. The ground hub 360 includes frontend transceivers361, a ground based beam forming GBBF facility 362, mobile hubs 363, andterrestrial networks 370.

In the example of FIG. 4, the wireless communication links between M1 aand the foreground area 130 are designated as the foreground links 390that couple wirelessly with multiple spot beam regions 1301, 1302, and1303. For example, the coverage area may span up to 100 Km in diameter,but varies depending on the type of mission performed. The wirelesscommunication links between the air vehicle M1 a and the background area132 are designated as the background links 380.

In the return link direction, ground hub 360 receives signals in itsfrontend transceivers 361 from the background-link 380. A processorcircuit or computer in the GBBF facility 362 performs some of thefollowing activities (1) recover the precision amplitudes and phasesincurred in the received signals from the on-board antenna 217 aradiating elements (217 b, e.g. FIG. 3), (2) perform receiving (Rx)digital beam forming (DBF) processing on the recovered radiating elementport 312 signals and generate received beam signals, and (3) demodulatethe received beam signals, converting the waveforms of the beam signalsinto data strings or, alternatively, the mobile hubs 363 or terrestrialnetworks 370 performs the tasks. Further details of one embodiment of aGBBF facility 362 are provided in FIG. 8.

In the forward link direction, the processor in the GBBF facility 362performs some of the following (1) obtain or generate from theterrestrial networks 370 or mobile hubs 363, beam-signals that includemodulation and channel formatting, (2) perform transmitting (Tx) digitalbeam forming (DBF) processing and generate parallel radiating elementport 312 signals, such as using baseband frequencies, and (2) multiplexthe parallel radiating element port 312 signals (e.g. FDM, TDM, CDM)that are then upconverted to a frequency such as in the Ku/Ka bandbefore being transmitted to the air vehicle M1 a.

Onboard the air vehicle or UAV M1 a, in one embodiment, the electronicequipment is similar to that depicted in FIG. 3. For example, in theforward link direction, the antenna radiating element port 312 signalsreceived by the background antenna 236 and I/O duplexer 233 areconditioned by an LNA 235. The Ku/Ka band demultiplexing devices 232separates the conditioned radiating element port 312 signals to variousports before down-converting them from the Ku/Ka frequency band into theL/S or C band. These signals are amplified by individual poweramplifiers 215 and then transmitted by the antenna array elements 217 a.These signals are concurrently delivered by M1 a to various users in theforeground area 130. The radiating element port 312 signals for variousantenna array elements 217 a were encoded with designations anddestination information so that particular port 312 signals are sent tospecific users coherently in various spot beams 1301, 1302, and 1303 infar-field over the foreground area 130 for enhanced signal qualities. Assuch, the configuration of FIG. 4 restores mobile communications forresidents such as in a disaster area, via an air vehicle or UAV 120, andthrough the implementation of a GBBF facility 362, strengthens anddirects the signals. The processing and transmission is performedconcurrently even when there are multiple calls or many transmittedbeams.

The embodiment of FIG. 4 also serves as a communication relay for teams(e.g. rescue workers in the foreground area 130) having phones or morespecialized communication devices 436 that operate at other frequencybands (e.g. emergency bands). Moreover, the persons are not limited torescuers, the word “team” or “rescue workers” basically refers toanother group of devices that operate at a different frequency from theresidential or commercial frequencies used by the residents of the localforeground area 130. The configuration of FIG. 4 also functions wherethe communication terminals 436 have omni directional reception andtransmission.

FIG. 4 also serves to depict using an air vehicle or UAV M1 a forbroadcasting and/or multicasting to the rescue workers or to emergencyor weather band radios operating at a different frequency from the S/Lband. This operational example uses a GBBF facility 362 or remote beamforming (e.g. beam forming techniques performed anywhere other than onthe air vehicle) to improve the signals sent out to multiple receiversin the foreground area 130. Some techniques and apparatuses for remotebeam forming are described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,098,612. Alternatively,the frontend 361 includes multiple beam antennas, and the digital beamforming (DBF) is performed using reconfigurable FPGAs, PLAs, computersor other processors in the GBBF facility 362 that can also obtainadditional information such as the atmospheric conditions, distanceparameters and so on. Yet alternative techniques are depicted in FIGS.7, 7 a, 7 b, etc., and described below.

The FIG. 4 configuration also serves to depict another operationalembodiment, RF receiving functions in the return links via an airvehicle or UAV M1 a and remote beam forming such as with the GBBFfacility 362. The rescue workers have apparatuses (e.g. trackingdevices) that send one-way communications to M1 a, having equipment suchas 300 in FIG. 3, that relays the information to the ground hub 360through the background link 380. The frontend receivers 361 comprisebi-static radar receivers. Ground hub 360 is modified (e.g. FPGA isreprogrammed or a software subblock or subroutine is exercised) toperform not only the functions of beam forming via GBBF facility 362,but also signal processing functions of range gating, Doppler frequencyseparations, as well as additional radar/imaging processing.

The FIG. 4 configuration also serves to depict another similaroperational embodiment serving users in a foreground area 130 with asingle air vehicle M1 a but to or from multiple ground hubs 360 locatedin various background sites 132. Each background site 132 has adifferent set of wireless background links 380 to M1 a.

FIG. 5 depicts another architectural embodiment of using airbornevehicles as communications towers or relays. There are multiple (e.g.four) air vehicles or UAVs 520-1, that perform a communication relaymission covering the foreground area 130 that is approximately 100 Km indiameter, a distance that depends on the nature of the mission. The UAVs520-1 fly in formations spaced closely together, such as within 10meters or less. The foreground links 420 wirelessly connect to multiplespot beams 1301, 1302, and 1303 services cell phones and other devicesthat operate in the L/S frequency band or some other popular frequencyband used by consumers. Such consumer devices usually have omnidirectional reception and transmission. Onboard each of the four UAVs520-1, the equipment in one embodiment is similar to that depicted inFIG. 3.

The embodiment of FIG. 5 also serves as a communication relay for morespecialized communication terminals 436 that operate at other frequencybands (e.g. emergency bands on devices carried by rescue workers). Theterminals 436 are located in the foreground area 130 and they usuallyhave omni directional reception and transmission.

In the return link direction, the ground hub 410 in FIG. 5 receives andconditions signals brought in through the background-links 550 andthrough its frontend receiver 361. The signals are received fromradiating element ports 312 (e.g. FIG. 3) from all four UAVs 520-1. Aprocessor in the GBBF facility 412 (1) recovers the precision amplitudesand phases from the received signals from all four UAVs 520-1, (2)performs receive Rx digital beam forming (DBF) on the recovered signalsto generate received beam signals, and (3) performs other processingsuch as demodulation to convert the waveforms of the beam signals intodata strings before delivering the data strings to the mobile hubs 413and terrestrial networks 480.

In the forward link direction of FIG. 5, the GBBF facility 412 (1)receives data or information from the mobile hubs 413 or terrestrialnetworks 480 after they perform modulation and channel formatting, (2)the GBBF 412 performs transmit Tx digital beam forming processing on thedata and information and generates parallel element signals in thebaseband frequencies, for example, (3) multiplexes (e.g. FDC, CDM, TDM)the parallel element signals, and frequency upconverts them to the Ku/Kafrequency band for transmission to the four UAVs 520-1 via thebackground-links 550. Because there is no on-board beam formingalgorithms on the air vehicles UAVs 520-1, the GBBF facility 412performs beam forming. Each of the UAVs 520-1 converts the parallelelement signals into beams by directly radiating into space using thearray elements 217 b, a technique such as described with respect to FIG.3. Multiple beam-signals are designated to be sent to particular usersin the various spot beams 1301, 1302, and 1303. These transmitted beamsignals are delivered to various users in the foreground area 130,concurrently.

In the forward link direction in an operational scenario, the ground hub410 is in wireless communication through the UAVs 520-1 to receivers inthe foreground area 130, from which data sources A and C sent theirsignals. The UAVs 520-1 go through the enhancements of beam formingprovided by the GBBF facility 412. In another embodiment, the UAVs 520-1can also optionally by-pass the beam forming enhancing actions of theGBBF facility 412 and send the communication to a designated receiver inthe foreground area 130. For example, A calls C, and C receives the callvia the UAVs 520-1 without the aid of the GBBF facility 412.

In an embodiment of FIG. 5 for either the forward or return links of themobile communications, there is a GBBF facility 412 that provides theremote beam forming for the signals that will be transmitted by eachantenna array 217 on each UAV 520-1. Also, in either the forward orreturn links, the selected frequency band (e.g. Ku/Ka) and thebackground links 550 comprise adequate instantaneous bandwidths tosupport the signal transmissions with multiple UAVs 520-1, concurrently.To increase bandwidth, one embodiment includes using multi-beam antennas411 (in the background hubs 410), and providing orthogonal beamsconcurrently to all of the UAVs 520-1 to facilitate frequency reuse inthe background links 550. For the foreground 130 communications, in oneembodiment, each of the UAVs 520-1 carries different electronicequipment that transmits a different group of beams that operate invarious frequency slots, have different groups of codes, and/or timeslots. For example, UAV M5 a is configured for code 1 in CDM orfrequency slot 1 in FDM, UAV M6 a is configured for code 2 in CDM orfrequency slot 2 in FDM, and so on. Thus, each UAV 520-1 supports anindependent data stream. Then the relative positions among the antennaarrays 217 on the different UAVs 520-1 become less important. Theradiated RF powers associated with the independent data streams amongvarious UAVs 520-1 are not coherently combined. Instead, the informationor independent data streams are optionally combined for high data rateusers via another method such as channel bonding or non-coherentcombining.

In another operational embodiment of FIG. 5 for either the forward orreturn links of mobile communications, there is a GBBF facility 412 thatprovides the beam forming for distributed array elements 217 a (e.g.array 217 a is replicated four times), where each is now considered tobe a sub-array and is on a different UAV 520-1. The aggregated ordistributed array “217D” has four sub-arrays 217 a distributed on fourUAVs that are dynamically moving relative to one another. The distancebetween the UAVs 520-1 varies slowly by less than 1 to 3 meters. As aresult, there is also a slow variation of distances between the sets ofelectronic equipment/antennas onboard each UAV 520. The slow-variationcreates a determinable and calculable incoherency or variation in pathlengths among the signals between each antenna sub-array 217 a on eachUAV 520. The slow varying distributed array position and geometry iscontinuously calibrated and then compensated for, in both the forwardlink and return link, as one of the functions of the GBBF facility 412.Multibeam GNSS (global navigation satellite systems) or GPS receivers ormultiple (at least three) accelerometers and gyroscopes on each UAVs 520provides information on the positions and orientations of individualUAVs 520. The dynamically-changing geometries of this distributed array217D are thus measured, and then calculated and predicted in advance.The data and information from the UAVs 520 are transmitted to the GBBFfacility 412 for processing for calibration and compensation purposes.This operational scenario allows coherently adding together radiatedsignals from multiple UAVs 520-1 to form a stronger signal to punchthrough (overcome) atmospheric interference or man-made structuresobstructing users with lower quality devices (e.g. weaker reception) orpositioned at disadvantaged locations.

FIG. 5 also serves to depict using multiple air vehicles or UAVs 520-1for one-way broadcasting and/or multicasting to devices. Thisoperational example uses a GBBF facility 412 or remote beam forming(e.g. beam forming techniques performed anywhere other than on the airvehicles) to improve the signals sent on the forward links. Twoembodiments include (1) each of the UAVs 520-1 supports an independentdata stream and a different group of signal beams such as TDM, FDM, CDM,or some combination of these, and so on; or (2) an antenna array 217D isdistributed among the multiple UAVs 520-1 that are flying inslowly-varying relative flight distance pattern. Then in the foregroundarea 130, through WF MUXing and/or spatial power combining, device 436coherently adds together signals from the multiple UAVs 520-1, aprocedure which yields an effectively stronger broadcast or multicastsignals. In one embodiment (1), the UAVs 520-1 are multiplexed throughconventional TDM, FDM, and/or CDM techniques. In another embodiment (2),the UAVs 520-1 are dynamically “maintained” coherently as a distributedarray.

The FIG. 5 configuration also serves to depict an embodiment as aone-way receiver-only using multiple air vehicles or UAVs 520-1 andremote beam forming such as using the GBBF facility 412. The UAVs 520-1provide a one-way return link (receiving only). In one embodiment, theon-board electronics and array radiating elements 217 a are similar tothe ones shown in FIG. 3.

As an operational example of receiving a communication, one of the UAVs520-1 serves to relay the data from a data source A in the beam position1303 in the foreground area 130, to a ground hub 410. Concurrently, theUAVs 520-1 also provide wireless interconnections from other possiblecallers (e.g. data source C in the beam position 1302) to the ground hub410. In one configuration, the ground hub 410 is electrically connectedto data receivers via terrestrial networks 480 in the background area132. The ground hub 410 performs receiving functions concurrently formany beams sent by the multiple UAVs 520-1.

Two embodiments of the return link (receiving function) include (1) eachof the UAVs 520-1 support an independent data stream and different groupof signal beams such as TDM, FDM, CDM, or some combination of these,etc.; or (2) the antenna array 217D comprising multiple subarrays 217 ais distributed among the multiple UAVs 520-1 flying a slowly-varyingrelative flight distance pattern, and through calibration andcorrections, a coherently added-together signal from the multiple UAVs520-1 provides a stronger broadcast or multicast signal. The coherentlyadded-together signal enhances the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)of the phone or other device.

To facilitate the second scenario where the array 217D is distributedamong the different UAVs 520-1, additional information is included inthe calculations. Multibeam GNSS receivers 521 such as GPS,accelerometers and gyroscopes are placed on the individual UAVs 520-1 toobtain the current positional status and the platform orientations.Similarly, multiple GNSS receivers at known locations on an UAV 520-1may also provide information on the bearing of the air vehicle. Forinstance, the current position and orientation of each sub-array 217 aon a moving UAV 520-1 is calculated with respect to a dynamic, aggregatecoordinate system moving with the mean velocity and vector-summeddirection of all of the participating UAVs 520-1. Thus the positions andorientations of a dynamically moving aggregated array 217D, an arraythat is actually distributed among multiple UAVs 520-1, are calculatedinstantaneously, providing the trajectory of the aggregated array 217Don different UAVs 520-1. In addition, the projected (predicted)trajectory over the next few seconds can also be obtained and includedin the calculations to coherently add together the beam signals from themultiple UAVs 520-1.

In FIG. 5, in one embodiment where the UAVs 520-1 provide a one-wayreturn link (receiving only) service that includes bi-static radarreceiver functions, where the transmitter and receiver are separated bysome distance. For example, the receivers are located on the UAVs 520-1and the transmitters are on GNSS satellites. Some GNSS satellitesradiate ranging codes in the L band; DBS satellites in the Ku bandradiate broadband signals toward different coverage areas over a landmass; spot beam satellites radiate in the Ka band and covermetropolitans areas; shaped beam satellites also radiate in the C-band,and so on. In bi-static radar receiving applications, the coherentcombining of signals (e.g. that are reflected by a common target such asa lake or building), captured by multiple UAVs 520-1, provides improvedSNR and also better spatial resolutions. RF illuminators for thesebi-static or multi-static radars may include many of the GNSS satellitesoperated in the L frequency band for global coverage, C frequency bandfor land and ocean coverage, or Ku and Ka frequency band for land masscoverage or equatorial coverage.

FIG. 6 depicts a scenario with multiple (e.g. four) air vehicles or UAVs620-1 that are flying together but spaced a large distance apart such asby over 0.3 Km. The foreground area 130 is on the order of 100 Km indiameter or less. UAVs 620-1 perform a communication relay missioncovering the foreground area 130 where ground user terminals (electronicdevices) 633 operate in the L/S/C frequency bands, but terminals 633have additional features such as the ability to transmit or track andreceive multiple signal beams, concurrently, and follow all four of theUAVs 620-1, independently. Instead of omni directional antennas,terminals 633 have multi-beam antennas that transmit and receiveconcurrently in selected directions. The multiple beam signals comprisesets (e.g. four) of independent data that are transported at the samefrequency in the four wireless foreground links 420, located betweeneach of the UAVs 620-1 and a terminal 633.

In the return link direction, the ground hub 410 in FIG. 6 receives andconditions, or amplifies and filters, signals from four UAVs 620-1brought in through four individual background-links 550 and through thefrontend multiple beam antennas 411 of the ground hub 410 located in thebackground area 132. A processor in the GBBF facility 412 in ground hub410 (1) recovers the precision amplitudes and phases from the receivedradiating element port 312 signals from all four UAVs 620-1, (2)performs Rx digital beam forming (DBF) on the recovered element port 312signals to generate received beam signals, and (3) performs otherprocessing such as frequency conversion or demodulation to convert thewaveforms of the beam signals into data strings. In addition, there is(4) channel bonding (combining non-coherently) of the received beamsignals to form a string of the received data string before deliveringthe data strings to the mobile hubs 413 and terrestrial networks 480.Channel bonding is performed on each beam signal from each UAV 620-1.The order of the operations (3) and (4) may be reversed if the signalmodulations in all four background-links 550 are identical.

In the forward link direction of FIG. 6, the GBBF facility 412 (1)receives data or phone beam signals from the mobile hubs 413 orterrestrial networks 480 after they perform modulation and channelformatting. The data or phone signals are designated (encoded) for aparticular user in the foreground area 130. The GBBF facility 412 also(2) segments the modulated signals into four substream beam signals, onefor each background link 450 depicted in FIG. 6, (3) performs fourconcurrent but independent Tx DBF processing on each of the substreambeam signals, each of which will be transmitted by one of the four UAVs620-1, and (4) up-converts to the Ku/Ka frequency band and FDMmultiplexes these signals to send to the four UAVs 620-1 via thebackground-links 550. Each substream beam signals is sent to thedesignated user in a spot beam such as 1302 in the foreground area 130.The user with a terminal 633 with multi-beam reception capability willhave an advantage of four times the channel capacity as compared to thecapacity from a single UAV 120.

In scenarios with multiple users, multiple substream beam signals in theforward links are sent to the designated users in various spot beams1301, 1302, and 1303 in the foreground area 130. These transmittedsubstream beam signals are delivered concurrently to various users viathe same set of four UAVs 620-1. The user with a terminal 633 with themulti-beam reception capability uses one of the four beams. Theremaining bandwidth assets associated with the three other beams in thesame frequency slot is available for other users with multibeamreception capability in the same beam position.

Because particular groups of users (e.g. rescue workers, soldiers, lawenforcement, etc.) are more likely to have terminals 633, the operationof the embodiment of FIG. 6 tends to involve these people rather thanthe typical resident in the foreground area 130. The terminals 633 areable to concurrently track all four UAVs 620-1 that have four separatedbeams operating at the same frequency such as the public safetyemergency band. Because the air vehicles are spaced far apart, there isgood isolation among the multiple UAVs 620-1 even though the beams areat the same frequency. Decoding and encoding and time separation areachieved through spatial isolation. As a result, the same spectrum canbe used multiple (e.g. four) times as compared to the scenarios wherethe UAVs 120 are flying closely together.

In an operational embodiment of FIG. 6 for either the forward or returnlink direction of the mobile communications, there is a GBBF facility412 that provides the beam forming for the signal for each antenna array217, independently, on each UAV 620-1. Also, the selected frequency band(e.g. Ku/Ka) and the background links 550 comprise adequateinstantaneous bandwidths to support the signal transmissions withmultiple UAVs 620-1, concurrently. To increase bandwidth, one embodimentincludes using multi-beam antennas 411 in the ground hub 410 andproviding orthogonal beams concurrently with all of the UAVs 620-1 tofacilitate frequency reuse in the background links 450. For theforeground 130 communications, each of the UAVs 620-1 carries differentelectronic equipment that transmit different groups of beams, operatedat various frequency slots, different groups of codes, and/or timeslots. Each UAV 620-1 supports an independent data stream. Then therelative positions among the antenna arrays 217 on the different UAVs620-1 become less important. The radiated RF powers associated with theindependent data streams among various UAVs 620-1 are not coherentlycombined. Instead, the information or independent data streamsoptionally combined for high data rate users via another method such aschannel bonding or non-coherent combining. Alternatively, in anotheroperational embodiment, coherent techniques are used for UAVs 620-1 thatare flying far apart. The coherent technique is similar to thatdescribed in relation to FIG. 5, for example. However, the slowlyvarying distance ranges are scaled up because the UAVs 620-1 are flyingfarther apart than the UAVs 520-1.

Wavefront Multiplexing or Demultiplexing

FIG. 7 depicts a scenario with multiple (e.g. four) air vehicles or UAVs620-1 that are flying together but spaced a large distance apart such asby over 0.3 Km. Wavefront multiplexing (WF MUX) technology is used inthis scenario to perform coherent power combining of the radiatedsignals to receive stronger and/or encoded signals. Before proceeding tothe details of the electronics and system architecture, it is beneficialto briefly review wavefront multiplexing. In 3-dimensions, a wavefrontcomprises a surface of a wave (e.g. beam of light, multiple beams oftelephone signals) that is propagating in space. Mathematically, awavefront can be represented by a “fat” aggregated vector with manycomponents N, and each component has a phase weight and amplitude weight(coefficients) associated with the vector. In order to transmit theaggregated vector containing many vectors (signals) simultaneously, itis possible to multiplex the individual vectors and then transmit themon a single channel. For example under TDM, time division multiplexing,the vectors are divided into small time segments (slots), and thensequentially transmitted on a single channel. Under wave frontmultiplexing, WF MUX, all of the vectors are transmitted simultaneouslyby using many channels. Instead of transmitting each vector on a single,dedicated channel, each vector is again divided into small segments(such as time). The segments are multiplexed so that segments of everyvector are transmitted on each of the parallel channels. In this mannerif the parallel channels are slightly unequal, e.g. different pathlength or have some sort of distortion, each vector undergoes the sameeffect. Then, at the destination, on the receiving end of the multiplechannels, there is a demultiplexer and filter (equalizer) to unscrambleand compensate for the propagation effects. Thus, the signals from thedifferent channels are coherently combined to recover the originalwavefront that was transmitted. Techniques of coherent power combining(before demodulation in a receiver, rather than spatial combining) ofthe radiated signals enable a receiver to receive stronger and/orencoded signals.

WF MUX involves a number transmission channels N that is greater thanone. The number four, e.g. four UAVs 120, 1:4 MUX, etc., has often beenused for illustration purposes in this disclosure, but N may be someother value. Electronically, Luneburg lens, Butler Matrices, andPillboxes are analog multi-beam beam-forming devices and can beimplemented as WF multiplexers (muxers). Many digital circuits orsoftware in a DSP also function efficiently as WF muxers, such as 1-D or2-D Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), 1-D or 2-D Discrete Fourier Transform(DFT), Hadamard transforms, Walsh and Hadamard transforms, and DiscreteHarley Transform (DHT).

Turning now to an exemplary configuration, FIG. 7 depicts a scenariowith multiple (e.g. four) air vehicles or UAVs 620-1 that relaycommunications mainly to users (e.g. rescuers) with terminal equipment633 in a foreground area 130. The M1 a, M1 b, M1 c, and M1 d UAVs 620-1are in communication with a device 633 in the foreground area 130, whichoperates in the public safety frequency band, for example. The groundhub 710 comprises multiple beam antennas 411 to connected to various UAVplatforms 620-1 concurrently via different Ku/Ka band background-links450, link 450 a between the ground hub 710 and UAV M1 a; link 450 bbetween the ground hub 710 and UAV M1 b; and so on. The ground hub 710comprises a GBBF 412 for both forward link (transmitting) beams andreturn link (receiving) beams, and a mobile hub 413 that are gateways toterrestrial networks 480.

Based on the illustration in FIG. 7 of the signal paths from thebackground hub 710 to the terminal 633, the signal paths can becharacterized as having the shape of a “bent pipe,” at least in thedrawing. The bent pipe embodiment comprises repeater or transponderfunctions to transmit signals without demodulation and re-modulation. Inthe forward link direction, the background area 132 has a ground hub 710with the WF MUX capability, the ground hub 710 uploads or transmits fourWF muxed signals 450 a-d in the Ku/Ka frequency band, one to each of thefour UAVs 620-1. On board the UAVs 620-1, the electronics such asdepicted in FIG. 3, down converts the frequency of the WF MUX signalsinto a frequency that is received and detectable by terminals 633 in theforeground area 130. A terminal 633 receives four signals, 420 a through420 d, one from each of the four UAVs 620-1. The terminal 633 has thecapability (WF deMUX and FIR filters) to receive the WF MUX signals andcoherently power combine them to extract the data and information orphone call, and so on. Thus, in the forward-link direction, the WFmultiplex processing occurs before the GBBF 412 (in the ground hub 710),and the associated WF demultiplex processing occurs in a user receiver(in the terminal 633) after the multi-beam DBF, but before demodulationprocessing.

In the return link direction, the terminal 633 transmits WF MUX signalsup to the UAVs 620-1; and the ground hub 710 coherently combines the WFMUX signals. The WF multiplex processing takes place in a usertransmitter (in the terminal 633) before the multi-beam DBF, but aftermodulation processing, and the associated WF demultiplex processingtakes place in a ground hub 710 after the receiver multi-beam DBFs, butbefore demodulation.

In the return link or the forward link, the UAVs 620-1 perform a relayservice. The UAVs 620-1 in FIG. 7 comprise similar equipment as those inFIG. 6. But the input/output (I/O) signals on these UAVs 620-1 are theWF multiplexed signals (e.g., y1, y2, y3, y4 in FIG. 7 a), rather thanthe original signals streams (S1, S2, S3 and PS in FIG. 7 a).Alternatively, a UAV 620-1 plays an active role and transmits andreceive WF MUX signals. For example, if a UAV 620-1 is part of an aerialnetwork of airborne communications towers and the UAV 620-1 transmits toanother air vehicle in the network. Then, the WF MUX technology isimplemented in the foreground devices, background hub and also in theairborne vehicles UAVs 620-1.

FIG. 7 a depicts an embodiment of the electronics in a forward link.FIG. 7 a depicts a multi-channel (e.g. four) forward link transmissionthat includes a WF mux module 714 prior to a GBBF 412 and multi-beamarray 411, all located in the ground hub 710. WF mux module 714 has fourinput signals, slices S1, S2, S3, and pilot code PS. WF mux module 714has four outputs or wavefront components (wfc) y1, y2, y3, y4. These wfcsignals are processed by a GBBF 412 that includes digital beam formingin 751, multiplexing (e.g. FDM) in 752, and frequency conversion andamplification in 753. The GBBF 412 processing is performed either insoftware where an analog to digital converter or digital to analogconverter circuits may be present to convert digital signals to analogand/or vice versa. Alternatively GBBF 412 is performed in hardware withelectronic circuits, integrated circuits, to perform the functions ofbeam forming, multiplexing etc. GBBF 412 generates WF MUX beam signalsthat are radiated by the antennas 411. The WF MUX beam signals areuploaded or uplinked to the UAVs 620-1 using the background link 450.The inputs to the four DBFs 751 are the wfc (y1, y2, y3, and y4)signals.

Continuing in the forward link embodiment of FIG. 7 a, in the lower partof the drawing, the UAVs 620-1 transmit signals through the forward link420 to the foreground area 130. In one embodiment, the terminal 633 inthe foreground area 130 has a receiving multi-beam receiver 745 withantenna array elements 722. Each antenna array elements 722 is followedby a LNA and frequency down converter 721 to amplify and condition thereceived signals. The conditioned received signals are sent to amulti-beam beam forming network BFN 723 that forms multiple trackingbeams based partly on the flight pattern dynamics of the relaying UAVs620-1 and also on the information encoded in the beams. The outputs ofthe multi-beam BFN 723 are y1′, y2′, y3′, and y4′ that originated fromsignals of y1, y2, y2, and y4, respectively, but are now contaminated bynoises and interference. The received signals y1′, y2′, y3′, and y4′ aresent to a baseband processor 724 comprising a bank of four adaptiveequalizers 741 and a 4-to-4 WFdemux 742. The outputs of the WFdemux 742comprise the recovered three slices of signal streams S1, S2, S3 and astream of pilot codes PS. The recovered signals S1, S2, S3 may bedesignated for different end users in the foreground area 130; e.g.,each stream constitutes a phone call.

In operation, the terminal 633 tracks signal beams from the multiple(e.g. four) UAVs 620-1, concurrently. Terminal 633 receives signals fromfour concurrent wireless links: link 420 a to UAV M1 a 620-1 a, link 420b to UAV M1 b 620-1 b, and so on. WF muxing/demuxing compensates for thecumulative phase and amplitude imbalances among the four propagationpaths and the associated electronics. The four paths are 450 a plus 420a; 450 b+420 b; 450 c+420 c; and 450 d+420 d. The Ku/Ka band channels inthe background links 450 have adequate instantaneous bandwidths tosupport all four M1 UAVs 620-1, concurrently. These techniques includeemploying advance multi-beam antennas in the ground hub 710 thatprovides orthogonal beams to the UAVs 620-1 to facilitate frequencyreuse.

In one operational embodiment, the distance among the UAVs 620-1 isvaried slowly so that the path lengths changes, a variation that isaccounted for in performing coherent power combining. The relativegeometries among the UAVs 620-1 is continuously calibrated and thencompensated for in the forward link. The use of WF muxing/demuxing alongwith adaptive equalization dynamically compensates for differences inthe amplitudes and phases among the four propagation paths, whichenables continuously maintaining the coherency among the signals thatare relayed by the four independent UAVs 620-1. This operationalscenario allows the coherent addition of the stronger radiated signalsfrom the multiple UAVs 620-1 to improve SNR and/or to overcome signaltransmission obstructions.

Regardless whether there is variation among the UAV distances, thesignals transponded by (uplinked then re-transmitted) the four UAVs620-1 are detected and amplified by the multi-beam receiver 745. Thereceiver 745 concurrently receives signals, y1′, y2′, y3′, and y4′ thatare the transponded signals of y1, y2, y3, and y4 with possibleadditional noise and cumulative differences in phases and amplitudes dueto the four UAVs 620-1, electronics, and/or atmospheric effects. TheWFdemux 742, along with the finite-impulse-response (FIR) filters 741,equalizes the propagation paths of the forward link to compensate forphase imbalances and amplitude differences in any of the segmentstraversed, the uploading background segment, airborne segment, orforeground receiving segment. During equalization, the coefficients ofthe FIR filters 741 are optimized by an iterative control loop based oncomparisons of the recovered pilot codes PS against the original PScodes that were transmitted. PS is a known diagnostic signal thattraversed all of the bent pipe paths and the control loop andelectronics and thus serves as an efficient optimization tool in theoptimizer 724.

In one embodiment of the optimization control loop, the adaptiveequalizers are implemented, for example, as finite-impulse-response(FIR) filters with adaptive filter coefficients that are adjusted by aniterative optimization loop using an optimization processor 743. As anexample, the optimization loop is based on a cost minimization algorithmusing steepest descent principles. Alternative methods to optimize thecoefficients include maximum likelihood or least squares fit. In oneconfiguration, the optimization loop in the baseband processor 724comprises signals traversing (1) adaptive equalizers 741, (2) a WF demux742, (3) comparators or cost functions generating processor 744, and (4)an optimization processor 743 having outputs of the updated coefficientsfor the adaptive equalizers 741. The main or feed forward path comprisesthe adaptive equalizers 741 and the WF demux processor 742. The feedbackpath includes the comparators 744 and the optimization processor 743.

A total cost (an estimator of the best solution for the filtercoefficients) is obtained through an iterative optimization loop. Aknown pilot signal PS was originally transmitted by the ground hub 710.The known pilot signal PS underwent the WF MUX processing procedure inground hub 710 and is now to be recovered in the user terminal 633. Therecovered PS value is compared to the original, known PS value, as adiagnostic tool to evaluate the total cost and produce the best filtercoefficients. The “best” filter coefficients comprise the solution wherethe recovered PS value and the original PS value matches closely. Thecoefficients are dynamically calculated by comparing at 744 therecovered pilot codes with the known PS sequences. The comparison ischaracterized by a “cost function” or measurable that is assigned to thediagnostic observable pilot codes. The cost function serves the purposeof a Chi-square test or maximum likelihood function in statistics andprobability analyses. The cost function is a positive valued number thatchanges and the value indicates whether an optimal solution for thecoefficients has been reached in an iterative process. The total cost isthe sum of all cost functions and comprises a non-zero positive number,representing current status of optimization loop. When the total costvalue is large, the adaptive equalizers are far from a desired (oroptimal) performance. On the other hand, smaller values indicate thatthe adaptive equalizers are reaching an optimal state. At a fullyoptimized state when the total cost value is substantially zero, theoutputs of the WFdemux 742 are taken to be the recovered input signalsS1, S2, S3, and PS. As such, the pilot code PS signal is a diagnosticsignal stream that aids the reconstruction of the user transmittedsignals S1, S2, S3. Because the S1, S2, S3, PS signals are recovered atthe terminal 633, the same notation is used for the signals at theoutputs of the WFdemux module 742, as at the inputs of the WFmux 712, inFIG. 7 a.

In another embodiment, the cost minimization includes identifyingmultiple relevant variables or observables to provide to the processor743. The relevant observables include the difference between therecovered pilot signal stream S4 and the original PS. The relevantobservables also include the correlations of the signals S1, S2, S3, S4at the output of the WFdemux 742. Then (point A), different costfunctions are generated based on the various the observables, whichincludes converting or mapping the observables into different measurablevariables or cost functions. When an observable meets the desiredperformance, the corresponding measurable or cost function moves towardszero. When an observable is slightly away from the desired performance,the corresponding measurable or cost function is assigned a smallpositive number. When an observable is far away from the desiredperformance, the corresponding measurable or cost function is assignedwith a large positive number. The sum of all cost functions yields atotal cost value that defines a numerical indicator of the currentstatus of the optimization loop performance. If the total cost value isless than some small positive threshold value, then the optimizationloop is stopped and the coefficients existing in that iteration of theloop become the “best” coefficients. Otherwise, the iteration continues,and the derivative or gradient of the total cost with respect to eachcoefficient (of the FIR filter 741) is calculated. New coefficients arecalculated iteratively based on a steepest descent algorithm to minimizethe total cost value during the optimization loop. Upon each iterationof the loop, the coefficients are updated, and then the loop returns topoint A. Thus in this embodiment, the total cost value converges towardzero, but does not have to become zero for an optimal solution to beobtained.

In different embodiments, WFdemux 742 is implemented using a FFTfast-Fourier transform or DFT (Discrete Fourier transforms), a Hadamardmatrix in a digital format, or combinations of a FFT and Hadamardmatrices. Alternatively a WFmux 712 or WFdemux 742 is constructed usinga Butler Matrix (BM) made with analog circuits having passivecomponents. In FIG. 7 a, a 4-to-4 WFmux 712 and a 4-to-4 WFdemux 742 areimplemented, although a number of channels other than four may beselected also.

One way to implement WF MUX technology can be described mathematicallyat each stage of the electronics. For instance, the outputs y1, y2, y3,and y4 of the WFmux 712 are the weighted sums of the inputs S1, S2, S3,and PS:y1(t)=w11*s1(t)+w12*s2(t)+w13*s3(t)+w14*ps(t)  (1.1)y2(t)=w21*s1(t)+w22*s2(t)+w23*s3(t)+w24*ps(t)  (1.2)y3(t)=w31*s1(t)+w32*s2(t)+w33*s3(t)+w34*ps(t)  (1.3)y4(t)=w41*s1(t)+w42*s2(t)+w43*s3(t)+w44*ps(t)  (1.4)where, s1(t)=S1, s2(t)=S2, s3(t)=S3, and ps(t)=PS; and “t” is the timeor digital sample index; and the coefficients w11, w12, etc., arefixed-valued weights. Thus, S1 appears in all of the outputs y1, y2, y3,and y4. Similarly for the other inputs S2, S3, and PS, each appears inevery one of the four outputs.

A wavefront vector (WFV) having four components is a column matrix whoseelements are the weight coefficients:WFV1=WF1=Transpose of [w11,w21,w31,w41]  (2.1)WFV2=WF2=Transpose of [w12,w22,w32,w42]  (2.2)WFV3=WF3=Transpose of [w13,w23,w33,w43]  (2.3)WFV4=WF4=Transpose of [w14,w24,w34,w44]  (2.4)where WFX*WFY=1 if X=Y, otherwise WFX*WFY=0; where X and Y are integersfrom 1 to 4. Thus, the four WFV vectors (column matrixes) are set upmutually orthogonal by choice. WF1 is associated with signal stream S1,WF2 with S2, WF3 with S3 and WF4 with PS.

Similarly, the outputs of the WFdemux 742, s1, s2, s3, and s4 areweighted sums of the inputs y1′, y2′, y3′, and y4′:s1′(t)=w11′*y1′(t)+w21′*y2′(t)+w31′*y3′(t)+w41′*y4′(t)  (1.5)s2′(t)=w12′*y1′(t)+w22′*y2′(t)+w32′*y3′(t)+w42′*y4′(t)  (1.6)s3′(t)=w13′*y1′(t)+w23′*y2′(t)+w33′*y3′(t)+w43′*y4′(t)  (1.7)s4′(t)=w14′*y1′(t)+w24′*y2′(t)+w34′*y3′(t)+w44′*y4′(t)  (1.8)where, s1′ (t)=S1, s2′ (t)=S2, s3′ (t)=S3, and s4′ (t)=S4=PS; and “t” isthe time or digital sample index; and the coefficients w11′, w12′, etc.,are fixed weights. Thus, y1′ appears in all of the outputs S1, S2, S3,and S4. Similarly for the other inputs y2′, y3′, and y4′, each appearsin every one of the four outputs. Moreover, the weights w11′, w12′,etc., are usually adjusted upon each iteration of the optimizationcontrol loop. And, the notation S1, S2, S3, S4 is reused because afterthe error correction and optimization is performed, the outputs of theWFdemux 742 should be substantially similar to the inputs for the WFmux712.

In addition at a user terminal 633,y1′=[a1*exp(jΦa)]*y1=a1*exp(jk*z1+p1)*y1  (1.10)y2′=[a2*exp(jΦb)]*y2=a2*exp(jk*z2+p2)*y2  (1.11)y3′=[a3*exp(jΦc)]*y3=a3*exp(jk*z3+p3)*y3  (1.12)y4′=[a4*exp(jΦd)]*y4=a4*exp(jk*z4+p4)*y1  (1.13)where “j” designates the imaginary part of a number, and Φa, Φb, Φc, andΦd are the cumulative phases incurred as a signal goes through differentelectronics and various segments of the bent pipe propagation paths.And, “k” is the wave number index and equals to 2π/λ, where λ is thewavelength associated with the signal frequency. Further, z1 is sum ofpath lengths 450 a and 420 a for UAV 620-1 a, a1 and p1 are amplitudeand phase imbalances associated with the electronics or obstacles alongthe path; z2 is sum of path lengths 450 b and 420 b for UAV 620-1 b, a2and p2 are amplitude and phase imbalances; z3 is sum of path lengths 450c and 420 c for UAV 620-1 c, a3 and p3 are amplitude and phaseimbalances; and z4 is sum of path lengths 450 d and 420 d for UAV 620-1d, a4 and p4 are amplitude and phase imbalances. When z1=z2=z3=z4=0,p1=p 2=p3=p4=0, and a1=a2=a3=a4=1; then; s1′(t)=c*s1(t), s2′(t)=c*s2(t),s3′(t)=c*s3(t), and s4′(t)=c*s4(t), where c is a constant.

Furthermore, Equation (1.5) to (1.8) can be written ass1′(t)=w′11*y1(t)+w′21*y2(t)+w′31*y3(t)+w′41*y4(t)  (1.5a)s2′(t)=w′12*y1(t)+w′22*y2(t)+w′32*y3(t)+w′42*y4(t)  (1.6a)s3′(t)=w′13*y1(t)+w′23*y2(t)+w′33*y3(t)+w′43*y4(t)  (1.7a)s4′(t)=w′14*y1(t)+w′24*y2(t)+w′34*y3(t)+w′44*y4(t)  (1.8a)wherew′11=[a1*exp(jΦa)]*w11  (1.9a)w′21=[a2*exp(jΦb)]*w21  (1.9b)w′31=[a3*exp(jΦc)]*w31  (1.9c)w′41=[a4*exp(jΦd)]*w41  (1.9d)

The wavefronts associated with S1, S2, S3, PS may suffer some distortionwhile traversing through the electronics and atmosphere. As a result,the wavefront vectors associated with the various data streams becomemutually non-orthogonal, and there may be cross talk or signal leakagesamong the output channels in the reconstructed signals.S1′=c*S1+Δ21(S2)+Δ31(S3)+Δ41(PS)  (1.10a)S2′=c*S2+Δ12(S1)+Δ32(S3)+Δ42(PS)  (1.10b)S3′=c*S3+Δ13(S1)+Δ23(S3)+Δ43(PS)  (1.10c)S4′=c*PS+Δ14(S1)+Δ24(S2)+Δ34(S3)  (1.10d)Where the notation “Δ21” refers to leakage coefficient from the secondchannel to the first channel; “Δ31” refers to the leakage coefficientfrom the third channel to the first channel, and so on. Afterequalization, the wavefront vectors become substantially mutuallyorthogonal, so that there is substantially no cross talk or signalleakage in the reconstructed signals.

In an application, in the ground hub 710 in FIG. 7 a, the four wfcoutputs y1, y2, y3, and y4 from the WF mux 712 are processed by the GBBF412. Using an array with M elements on board each of the four UAVs620-1, as an example, each of the four DBF processors 751 comprises Mbeam-formed element signal outputs. Each of the four FDM 752 performsmultiplexing on M outputs, generating a single signal stream that isfrequency up converted and power amplified by a RF frontend 753 beforebeing transmitted by one of the four antennas 411 to a designated UAV620-1. The antennas 411 have high gain and operate in the Ka/Kufrequency band, for example. There are also Ka/Ku antennas 236 on eachUAV 620-1 to receive the uplinked signals. By arbitrary designation, theUAVs 620-1 relay the signals so that y1 is delivered to the userterminal 633 via the first UAV 620-1 a, y2 via the second UAV 620-1 b,y3 via the third UAV 620-1 c, and y4 via the fourth UAV 620-1 d. Becauseeach wavefront component wfc y1, y2, y3, y4 is a weighted sum of theinputs, S1 is relayed concurrently to the designated user terminal 633by four separate UAVs 620-1 through a common frequency slot. Similarly,S2 is relayed to a second user by four separate UAVs 620-1 through thecommon frequency slot. The second user is collocated in the same beamregion 1302 as that of the first user. Similarly, S3 is relayed to athird user in region 1302. In this embodiment, each UAV 620-1 also poweramplifies the transponded signals it receives before re-radiating thesignals to the three designated terminals 633 respectively; a first onefor reception of S1, a second one for reception of S2, and a third onefor reception of S3.

In this example, each of the three users in the same beam region 1302concurrently receive his own signals transmitted in the same frequencyslot through the same four propagation paths from a common ground hub710. The three signals and a pilot signal are WF muxed with fourmutually orthogonal WF vectors in a 4-D space, where each dimension ofthe 4-D space is a propagation channel of a WF vector. Thus the fourcomponents of all four WF vector are concurrently sent through fourdifferent paths; each component of all four WF vectors are aggregatedand sent through a UAV 620-1. At the destination where the terminals 633are located, the cumulative phase and amplitude differences among thecomponents of a WF vector are removed through adaptive equalization andWF demuxing. The outputs of each WF demux for each terminal 633 becomethe recovered input signals (S1, S2, S3), if the cumulative phase andamplitude differences are substantially fully equalized.

Turning now to an embodiment of the return link for the bent pipecommunication configuration, FIG. 7 b depicts an example of theoperational principles of coherent power combining and WF MUX in theother direction. In the foreground area 130, a user has a terminal 633that is equipped to transmit WF MUX signals via antennas 722. Terminal633 comprises a TX modulator 765 that generates a stream of modulatedsignals, S1, and a stream of diagnostic codes, pilot codes PS. S1 and PSare sent as inputs to a 4-to-4 WFMux 764. Other inputs of WFMux 764remain grounded or disconnected. Alternatively, if there are othernearby users in the same spot beam region 1302 wishing to sendcommunications or data, they may also provide inputs S2 and S3 to theWFMux 764. The S2 and S3 signals may also be modulated by modulator 765.

Each signal stream S1, S2, S3, PS is part of and maps to a unique WFvector at the output of the WFMux 764. The wavefront (WF) vectors in thefour outputs of the WFMux 764, y1, y2, y3, y4 are mutually orthogonal toone another by construction if they were generated by a WFMux 764. Eachuser signals stream is associated with one WF vector; S1 with WF1, S2with WF2, S3 with WF3, and PS with WF4. Orthogonal signals simplifyreconstruction and there is less or no cross talk and leakage of onesignal to another. The four parallel outputs y1, y2, y3, and y4 are sentto a transmitting multi-beam beam forming network BFN 763 that formsmultiple tracking beams, following the movement of the relay airvehicles or UAVs 620-1. The outputs y1, y2, y3, and y4 of BFN 763 areconditioned, frequency up-converted and power amplified before beingradiated by antenna array elements 722. Each of the four transmittedbeam signals is sent to one UAV 620-1; for example, y1 is transmitted toUAV 620-1 a, y2 to UAV 620-1 b, y3 to UAV 620-1 c, and y4 to UAV 620-1d. As a result, the S1 signal stream is actually propagating in the fourUAV paths in parallel, concurrently with a unique distribution pattern.For instance, S1 is duplicated and weighted by WF vector 1 or WF 1 inthe four parallel paths. So are the S2, S3 and PS signal streamsweighted by different distribution patterns. For terminals 633, thesignals S1, S2, S3, PS are transmitted in the C-band, but the techniquesalso work for signals of the L/S band or some other frequency band.

The foreground area 130 signals are detected and amplified by areceiving (Rx) antenna array (e.g. 217 a) with N elements on each of thefour UAVs 620-1. On each UAV 620-1, the signals are also FDM multiplexedindividually, amplified, and frequency converted to the Ku/Ka or someother frequency band. Each of the four UAVs 620-1 then transmits thesignals through one of the background links 450 to one of the fourdirectional antennas 411, as depicted in FIG. 7 b. The signals from eachUAV 620-1 are transmitted to a particular antenna 411. Each antenna 411inputs to one channel of the GBBF 422, where the GBBF 422 conditions thesignals (e.g. amplifier, filter), down converts (783) the frequency ofthe signals, and FDM demultiplexer (782) the signals, before sendingeach one of the signals to a corresponding one multi-beam receiving DBF781. The outputs y1′, y2′, y3′, and y4′ from each of the four DBFs 781are input to an optimizer 724. In one embodiment, the optimizer 724 inthe return link is similar to the optimizer 724 in the forward link,which was described earlier with respect to FIG. 7 a. The return linkoptimizer 724 recovers the signals S1 and PS (and S2 and S3 if therewere such signals sent from the terminal 633) in a manner similar tothat in the forward link. However, the return link optimizer 724 islocated in the ground hub 710 instead of being in a terminal 633.Moreover, the S1 (and any S2, S3) signals in the ground hub 710 may bein a different frequency band than those of the slices S1, S2, S3 in theterminal 633, but the symbols or message is substantially the sameexcept for any small error compensation differences. But in thisembodiment, both the WF multiplexing and the WF demultiplexing are bothperformed on the ground, albeit in different ground areas.

In another embodiment, the four individual antennas 411 may be replacedby one multi-beam antenna with four beam receivers independentlytracking different UAVs 620-1 concurrently. But regardless of theantenna configuration, the return link optimizer 724 comprises anadaptive equalizing FIR filter 741. Individual adaptive filters 741compensate for amplitude and phase differentials caused by differencesamong the different propagation paths. Differences among the four FIRfilters 741 are compensated for as a group to correct for time and phasedifferences. The coefficients of the return link FIR 741 are againoptimized by an iterative control loop through the use of thediagnostic, known pilot signal PS. The outputs of the return link FIR741 go to the WFdemux 742 that recovers the slices S1, S2, S3 byperforming the inverse of the equations 1.1 through 1.4 (or performingcalculations of 1.5a to 1.8a) to extract s1(t), s2(t), s3(t) and s4(t)at time index t. In the calculations, the weights w′11, w′12, etc., areinitially, the best guess values that are obtained from the optimizationprocess in the return link optimizer 724 (having the iterative controlloop to obtain the best coefficients for the FIR filter 741). Thus, thisreturn link is an example of using coherent power combining fromradiations transmitted by relay air vehicles that are flying at a largedistance apart. The power radiated by the UAVs 620-1 is coherentlycombined (added together through the WFdemux 742 with adaptiveequalizers 741), after the adaptive equalization loop converges.Otherwise, the output signal at the first output port (slice1) of theWFdemux 742 will produce a S1 signal at lower intensity (e.g. 6 dB less)with signal leakages coming from S2, S3, and PS in addition to anyelectronic receiver noises. The combining process is performed in 724that comprises a baseband processor 724, rather than in free space as isthe case with spatial power combining process.

Beam Forming

Turning now to more details in the beam forming electronics and softwarementioned in the various foregoing embodiments, FIG. 8 depicts a blockdiagram of communications electronics 1200 (“UAV segment 1200”) onairborne vehicles or UAVs 120 that are in communication with a groundbased beam forming facility GBBF 412 in a ground segment 410. The GBBF412 is located in the background area 132 and utilizes digital beamforming techniques and GBBF 412 is wirelessly coupled to the UAVs 120through a background link such as 380 or 550.

In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the UAV segment 1200 comprises fourfunctional blocks. There is a forward link transmitting circuit FwdTX1220 that operates, for example, in the L/S frequency band forcommunications with the foreground area 130. FwdTX 1220 electricallycouples to a forward link receiving circuit FwdRX 1240 that operates,for example in the Ku/Ka frequency band for communications via thebackground link 550. In the return link direction, there is atransmitting circuit RetTX 1230 that operates, for example in the Ku/Kafrequency band. The RetTX 1230 electrically couples to a receivingcircuit RetRX 1210 operating for example in the L/S band frequency bandwith the foreground area 130. Both circuits, FwdRX 1240 and RetTX 1230communicate with a background hub such as 410 or 710.

The FwdRX 1240 comprises a Ku/Ka band compatible receiving antenna array1242 with, for example, an array with four panels for background-link450 communications. The four panel array 1242 issoftware/command-controlled to point its receive beam direction towardthe ground segment 410 via a Ku/Ka frequency compatible beam formingnetwork BFN 1241 that is implemented using a 4-to-4 Butler matrixfollowed by a 4-to-1 switch or something functionally equivalent.

The RetTX 1230 comprises a Ku/Ka frequency compatible transmittingantenna array 1232 with, for example, four panels for background-linkcommunications. The four panels array 1232 issoftware/command-controlled to point its transmit beam direction towardthe ground segment 410 via a Ku/Ka frequency compatible beam formingnetwork BFN 1231 that may also be implemented by a 4-to-1 switchfollowed by a 4-to-4 Butler matrix or something functionally equivalent.

The receive FwdRX 1240 and transmit RetTX 1230 comprise mostly analogcircuits with a BFN 1231 or 1241 made of dielectric material ormicrostrip layout on a printed circuit board so that the electronics issmall. Moreover, one advantage of an on-board BFN 1231 or 1241 is thatit reduces the bandwidth needed to accommodate the background link 450or 550 communications. The on-board BFN 1231 also has an improvedantenna gain, which reduces the required radiation power, and allowscommunications with ground hubs farther away and/or enhances the channelcapacity.

In the return link direction in FIG. 8, the signals flow from theforeground 130 to the UAV segment 1200 comprising RetTX 1210, andeventually to the ground segment 410. RetRX 1210 comprises four receiveelements or channels D1, D2, D3, and D4 1212, each of which iselectrically connected to a LNA, a (band-pass filter) BPF, and anup-converter 1211 to the Ku/Ka band. The four received signals,up-converted from the four Rx subarrays are FDM multiplexed 1215 into asingle stream 1101 that is transmitted to a ground segment 410 via a4-element Ku/Ka array 1232. Controlling the array 1232 is a Ku/Ka Txbeam forming network (BFN) 1231 that comprises a Butler matrix (TxBM).Each of the four outputs of the TxBM is electrically connected to anactive array element of 1232.

In operation in the return link direction, on the UAV 120, signalscaptured by array elements or channels D1, D2, D3, and D4 1212 areconditioned by LNAs, band-pass-filters (BPF) and frequency up-convertedto a common IF by four individual L/S band frontends 1211. After furtherconditioning by BPF and buffer amplifiers 1214, the conditioned receivedelement signals are then FDM multiplexed by a FDM multiplexer 1215,combined into a multiplexed single stream of signals 1101 that aredelivered to the Ku/Ka RetTX 1230 of the background communications. Thesignals 1101 are power amplified before being sent to a Tx BFN 1231 thatadds the proper phases and amplitude modifications for radiation by theindividual panel elements 1232. The radiated signals are coherentlycombined in the ground segment 410.

In the ground segment 410, the radiated element signals 1101 captured byground segment antennas (not shown) are conditioned by a low noiseamplifier, filtered and then frequency down converted by a Ku/Ka Rx(receive) front end 411R in the GBBF 412. Such conditioned signals arethen sent to a multi-beam Rx digital beam forming (Rx DBF) 781 thatconverts the conditioned radiating element signals 1101 to beam signals.These recovered beam signals then go through receiving functionsincluding demodulation, and so on, before going to a terrestrial IPnetwork 418 such as a phone or Internet.

In the forward link direction in FIG. 8, the signals flow from theground segment 410 to the UAV segment 1200 comprising FwdTX 1220, andeventually to the foreground 130. In-coming data and information trafficfrom terrestrial IP network 418 go through various transmit functionsincluding the modulation, and encoding in the GBBF 412. The modulatedbeam signals are sent through a multi-beam Tx digital beam formingmodule TxDBF 751 that converts beam signals into radiating elementsignals that are multiplexed into a single stream before frequency upconversion (e.g. baseband to Ku/Ka band) and power amplified in thetransmit frontend 411T of the ground segment 410. Then the multiplexedelement signals are radiated by Ku/Ka transmitting antennas (not shown)located in the ground segment 410. On the UAV 120, the multiplexedelement signals 1102 are received by the array 1242, the element signalsthat were processed and encoded by the GBBF 412 and designated fortransmission to a particular foreground area 130 user. The uplinked oruploaded signals 1102 are FDM de-multiplexed in DMUX 1225, amplified andfiltered at 1224 and frequency down-converted at 1221, amplified byindividual power amplifiers, and then radiated by corresponding arrayelements or channels D1, D2, D3, and D4 1222. The radiated signals willbe coherently combined in the foreground area 130, individually andconcurrently in different desired directions corresponding to varioustargeted beam regions (e.g. 1302).

FIG. 8 a depicts another embodiment of the on-board circuits andelectronics on a UAV 120. The four panel arrays 1232, 1242 that aresoftware/command-controlled in FIG. 8, are replaced by an analogretro-directive antenna circuit 1100 in FIG. 8 a. Further, in theembodiment of FIG. 8, the forward link communication with users in theforeground area 130 is selected based mostly on user devices operatingin the L/S frequency bands (e.g. cell phones). In the embodiment of FIG.8 a, the forward link communication with users in the foreground area130 is selected based mostly on user devices operating at 700 MHz or 4.9GHz, which are the emergency frequency bands in the U.S. The frequenciesmay also be interchanged in the two examples, or be replaced by someother value by using programmable electronics, for example, to reset thefrequencies.

In FIG. 8 a, in the forward link direction, the FwdTX 1220 transmits atthe public safety frequency bands for foreground area 130communications, but in the return link direction, the RetRX 1210receives also in, for example, the safety frequency band for foreground130 communications. However, in either the forward link or return linkdirection with respect to the background link 380 or 550, thecommunication frequency is the Ku/Ka frequency band, for example.

In FIG. 8 a, the retro-directive antenna RDA 1100 transmits and receivesin the Ku/Ka frequency band for the background area 132 communications.RDA 1100 comprises multiple (e.g. four) antenna array elements 1132 thathave a low-profile and near conformal design. Each of the four antennaarrays elements 1132 may be set to point in a different direction(position) in space and receive or transmit signals in that direction.These arrays elements 1132 may be considered a subarray, each pointingto a direction. However, it is also possible to set up the arrayelements 1132 so that they are aligned and pointed to a boresight of theentire RDA 1100 that has a large field of view of about 120 degrees. InRDA 1100, the receive multi-beam forming processing is performed by a2-dimensional Butler matrix BM 1121 that is followed by a pair ofswitching matrices ST 1122 (one depicted behind the other in FIG. 8 a).In one implementation embodiment, the BM 1121 comprises a 2-by-2 to2-by-2 Butler matrix and a switch ST 1122 4-to-1 matrix. In the forwardlink, the first ST 1122 operates in the main signal path that iselectrically coupled to the interface 1102 via a buffer amplifier 1102a. The first ST 1122 is controlled by a beam controller 1142 thatdecides which beam among the four outputs of the BM 1121 to select. Thefour outputs correspond to four separate beam positions (four directionscovered by one of the four array elements 1132) that constitute theentire field of view of the RDA 1100. For example, if the four beampositions (four panels of 1132) using the notation of [elevation,azimuth] in an UAV 120 coordinate system are set at [30°, 30°], [30°,−30°], [−30°, 30°], and [−30°, −30°]. Each array element panel 1132 isassociated with a beam position having a 3 dB beam-width (cone diameter)covering about 30 degrees. If there are multiple GBBF facilities 412,each array element panel 1132 might be pointing to a different facility412. As the UAV 120 moves and/or its orientation changes, the relativeposition and direction of a desired GBBF facility 412 is also altered inthe UAV 120 coordinate system, but the position and direction of a GBBFfacility 412 should be within at least one of the four possible beampositions covered by the element panels 1132. The UAV 120 points itsmain beam position to the selected GBBF facility 412 via a second ST1122 that can switch signals to a retro-directive analysis block 1141 tohelp determine the currently-best beam position to select based on thestrength of the signals received.

The selection of the currently-best beam from among the four is madebased on information derived from the second of the two switch matricesST 1122 that is also controlled by the beam controller 1142. The secondST 1122 is continuously switched among all of the four possible beampositions and the second ST 1122 uses short dwell times (on the order ofmilliseconds) that are long enough to detect/sample the signalcharacteristics. The signal characteristics data collected by the secondST 1122 is used by an on-board processor (analysis block 1141), toidentify a beam position that is currently associated with the strongestsignal level, and having other characteristics associated with desiredsignals such as the frequency format and encoding (e.g. FSK or QAM),acquisition sequences, or unique header or trailing sequences in theinformation packages. The beam controller 1142 then informs both thetransmit switch ST 1112 and the other receive ST 1122 (first of the twoRx ST 1122) which is the currently-best beam position choice for theretro-directive antenna RDA 1100.

In the return link direction, the receiving circuit RetRX 1210 receivesfrom the foreground 130 (e.g. rescuers), the radiated element signals ina public safety band frequency (e.g. 700 MHz or 4.9 GHz). The RetRX 1210frequency up-converts and the FDM 1215 multiplexes the element signalsto produce signals 1101 and delivers them to the RDA 1100. The signals1101 traverses a switch (e.g. 4-to-1) ST 1112 and a BM 1111. BM 1111adjusts the phase and amplitude of the signals 1101. BM 1111 generatesfour properly-phased outputs that are amplified by power amplifiers 1113and then radiated by the low profile antenna array elements 1132. Whenthe four radiated signals reach the ground segment 410, the fourradiated signals are spatially and coherently combined.

In more detail in the return link, there are multiple (e.g. four)receive channels D1, D2, D3, and D4 1212 that receives four inputsignals from the foreground 130. Each of the D1, D2, D3, and D4 channelshave a frequency up-converter 1211 that converts the signal to a desiredfrequency band, such as the Ku/Ka band. The frequency up-converter 1211is electrically connected to a low noise amplifier LNA and a band passfilter BFP 1214. The frequency converted four signals are FDMmultiplexed at 1215 into a single stream element signal 1101, which isthen power amplified at 1101 a, then sent to the four-elementretro-directive array RDA 1100. The element signal 1101 is sent to aswitch matrix 1112 that is controlled by beam controller 1122 to selectthe appropriate inputs for the BM 1111 (the switch matrix 1112 is a1-to-4 switch to channel the signal 1101 to the appropriate input of BM1111). The four inputs of BM 1111 correspond to four separated beampositions, the four outputs of the BM 1111 are connected to the fourantenna array elements 1132, respectively. The BM 1111 comprises a beamforming device for four concurrent beams that support four beampositions.

As an operational example, signal A connected to a first input of the BM1111 yields four concurrent outputs of signal A with a first phasedistribution (e.g. −90°, −135°, −180°, −225°. The four concurrentoutputs of signal A appears in the four output ports of the BM 1111.Alternatively, when the signal A is connected to a second input port,this may yield four concurrent outputs of signal A with a differentphase distribution (e.g. 225°, 90°, −45°, −180° that appears in the fouroutput ports of the BM 1111. The different phase distributions among thefour output ports corresponds to different beam positions for an RDA1100 having a fixed geometry in the UAV 120 coordinate system.

In another UAV 120 electronics embodiment having a retro-directiveantenna RDA 1100, in FIG. 8 b, instead of utilizing a GBBF facility 412in the background area 132, there are beam forming electronics on boardthe UAV 120 for the foreground 130 communications. One embodiment ofthis was already presented in reference to FIG. 2. Now, FIG. 8 b depictsa more-detailed embodiment. In the forward link FwdTX 1220, an on-boardmulti-beam transmit beam forming network (BFN) 1225B replaces the FDMdemultiplexer 1225 of FIG. 8 a. FwdTX 1220 transmits communications tothe foreground area 130 using a public safety frequency band, forexample. BFN 1225B comprises mostly analog electronics, including a1-to-4 power divider followed by four sets of phase shifters, or a1-to-4 switching matrix followed by a 4-to-4 Butler matrix. Likewise, inthe return link RetRX 1210, an on-board multi-beam receive beam formingnetwork BFN 1215B replaces the FDM multiplexer 1215 of FIG. 8 a. RetRX1210 receives communications from the foreground area 130, also in thepublic safety frequency band, for example. One advantage of an on-boardBFN 1215B or 1225B for the foreground communications is that it reducesthe bandwidth needed to accommodate the background link 450communications because less information is uplinked to the UAV 120. Forexample, the background link 550 (Ka/Ku) bandwidth may be reduced toless than the product of the total foreground link (L/S) bandwidth timesthe number of antenna array elements 1222 and 1212, when the number ofconcurrent beams is less than the number of antenna array elements 1222and 1212 for foreground communications.

Finally, regardless of a particular embodiment or configuration of theairborne vehicles and electronics described above, two major technologyfeatures include remote beam forming and wavefront multiplexing. Aremote beam forming network (RBFN), not located on an air vehicle, suchas ground based beam forming (GBBF) may be implemented using digitalelectronics and software. Digital beam forming (DBF) includes remote useof PLAs or FPGAs or computers or other processors in a GBBF processingcenter located at a gateway facility. The GBBF processor performs beamforming for antenna arrays located on UAVs or air vehicles that act asairborne communications towers or relay stations. Even a single gatewaycan support multiple UAVs. There are also multiple frequencies involved,at least one for a communications network some frequency (e.g. emergencyband) such as for rescue teams; another one for the community members inthe disaster areas using, for example, existing cellular phone frequencybands or WiF.

Another technology is wavefront multiplexing/demultiplexing (WF MUX). Itincludes performing transformations having characteristics such as (1)orthogonality among WF vectors, and (2) redundancy and signals security.The first characteristic is beneficial for (a) calibrations on thebackground-link transmission for RBFN/GBBF, and (b) coherent powercombining in the receivers for signals coming from different channels onvarious UAVs or other sources. The second characteristic is beneficialfor (c) secured transmissions with redundancies via the UAVs.

Moreover some of the highlights include the following, in engineernotation: A concept of airborne communications network using remote beamforming on ground

a. Communications architectures on an air platform

-   -   i. S/L or C-band arrays on an air platform for foreground        supporting multiple-beam communications; the beam forming        mechanisms for the array are not on board but remotely on ground        facility    -   ii. Retro-directive arrays at X, Ku or Ka band on an air        platform for background communications; the beam forming        mechanisms are implemented using analogue techniques on board.

b. GBBF processing with the Gateway;

-   -   i. using digital implementations for multiple concurrent beams.    -   ii. Interconnectivity within the network via a routing network        in the gateway    -   iii. Provide connectivity to other infrastructures

c. Users at foreground communications networks

-   -   i. Separated networks for rescue team and community in disaster        areas        -   1. supporting rescue teams using 4.9 GHz or other emergency            bands        -   2. support local community using commercial cell phone band        -   3. Intra-network communications via Gateway            Interconnections.    -   d. Design example: sixteen element array; enable a four element        subarray with multiple beam capability maintaining links for a        data rate at 10 Mbps for each subarray; enable sparse array made        from four subarrays at S/L or C bands with multiple beam        capability; Ku band feeder links with a bandwidth of 160 MHz;        cell phones for residents in serviced community; common rescue        mission equipment operating at 4.9 GHz; in the foreground: three        Ku band antennas to track three UAVs concurrently and        individually at a data rate of 150 MHz in both uplink and        downlink directions; and GBBF capability with knowledge of        evolving array orientations on UAVs.        Fore-ground communications networks    -   a. Multiple dynamic beams can be formed via the GBBF facility at        the gateway; according to the traffic demands        -   i. fixed contiguous spot beams        -   ii. dynamic agile spot beams        -   iii. combinations of i and ii        -   iv. shaped contour beams            Feeder link (background link) designs at Ku band    -   b. Retro-array on board and gimbaled dish on ground for two-way        communications with a 150 MHz instantaneous bandwidth each.    -   c. With 4, 8, or 16 element arrays with a diagnostic beam        continuously scanning for the detections and updating of angle        of arrivals radiated by the GBBF facility collocated with the        gateway.    -   d. Using Butler matrix and two switching network; one for main        traffic and the other for the diagnostic scanning beam.        Feeder link compensation techniques using wavefront multiplexing        Coherent Power combining in receiver using WF muxing/demuxing        through UAV based wireless networks        Coherent Power combining in receiver using WF muxing/demuxing        through UAV based wireless networks for Bi-static radar receiver        Coherent Power combining in receiver using WF muxing/demuxing        through UAV based wireless networks for broadcasting or        multicasting applications.        Compensations using WF muxing/demuxing for multiple UAVs. based        wireless networks for broadcasting or multicasting applications.        Compensations for dynamic geometries of distributed arrays based        on multi-UAVs using WF muxing/demuxing and multi-beam GNSS        receivers on UAVs.

Finally, the orientation and directions stated and illustrated in thisdisclosure should not be taken as limiting. For example, the directions,e.g. “top,” are merely illustrative and do not orient the embodimentsabsolutely. That is, a structure formed on its “side” or “bottom” ismerely an arbitrary orientation in space that has no absolute direction.Also, in actual usage, for example, the equipment may well be on its“side” because the airborne vehicles fly, bank and rotate in manydirections; and then, “top” is pointing to the “side.” Thus, the stateddirections in this application are arbitrary designations.

Also, the coverage area and distances and diameters in the foregoingembodiments are not limiting. If the UAVs 120 fly at high enoughaltitudes, they can communicate with the background networks and GBBFsthat are far away, from 100 Km to 1000 Km away. On the other hand, ifthe UAVs 120 fly at low altitudes, the UAVs 120 can communicate withbackground networks and GBBFs that are closer by, from 0 Km to 100 Kmaway. As such, the distance between the foreground area 130 andbackground area 132 depends on various factors such as the altitude atwhich the UAVs 120 are flying.

While certain features of the implementations have been illustrated anddescribed herein, modifications, substitutions, changes and equivalentswill occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, to beunderstood that the claims are intended to cover all such modificationsand changes that fall within the scope of the embodiments. It should beunderstood that they have been presented by way of example only, notlimitation, and various changes in form and details may be made. Anyportion of the apparatus and/or methods described herein may be formedin any combination, except mutually exclusive combinations. Theembodiments described herein can include various combinations and/orsub-combinations of the functions, components and/or features of thedifferent embodiments described. For example, the number of airbornevehicles stated can be increased or decreased because it is alsopossible to divide the equipment among more or fewer aircrafts. Finally,although the Title and disclosure focus on aircrafts, the methodsdescribed also work for water or land vehicles if there is unobstructedcommunication or if a vehicle can be moved to a hilltop, for example.

What is claimed is:
 1. A communication system comprising: a set ofcommunication equipment divided among airborne vehicles; wherein a firstsubset of the set of communication equipment, mounted on a firstairborne vehicle, defines a roving communication tower in a foregroundregion; wherein the set of communication equipment, mounted among eachof the airborne vehicles, has data receivers to communicate withon-ground devices or with a hub or with a ground based beam forming(GBBF) facility; and wherein the data receivers connect to receivewavefront multiplexed (WF MUX) signal components wherein one of the WFMUX signal components is a multiplexed diagnostic code.
 2. Thecommunication system of claim 1, wherein the airborne vehicles areun-manned.
 3. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the set ofcommunication equipment includes retro-directive arrays to communicatewith the hub or the GBBF facility at a first frequency band differentfrom a second frequency band used by onboard airborne arrays tocommunicate with devices located in the foreground region.
 4. Thecommunication system of claim 1, wherein the set of communicationequipment is configured to send communications at a first frequency totracking antennas at the hub or at the GBBF facility in the backgroundregion, wherein the communications include position information of eachof the airborne vehicles.
 5. The communication system of claim 1 furthercomprising an array antenna on one of the air vehicles that is arrangedto transmit multiple beams at a second frequency band to devices in theforeground region, wherein beam formation data is provided by the hub orthe GBBF facility.
 6. The communication system of claim 1 furthercomprises antennas to receive beam formations from a digital beamforming (DBF) processor circuit on the GBBF facility.
 7. Thecommunication system of claim 1, wherein the set of communicationequipment includes data transmitters operating at a second frequencyband to communicate with devices having omni-directional or directionalantennas located in the foreground region.
 8. The communication systemof claim 1, wherein the WF MUX signal components are generated by amultiplexer set up to perform Butler or Hadamard or Fouriertransformations on an original diagnostic code and on data.
 9. Thecommunication system of claim 1, wherein the set of communicationequipment comprises dynamic signal equalization to maintain coherencyamong the WF MUX signal components relayed by each of the airbornevehicles.
 10. A roving communication structure comprising: a set ofcommunication equipment for mounting among airborne vehicles; a firstsubset of the set of communication equipment to define a rovingcommunication tower in a foreground region; the set of communicationequipment includes data receivers to communicate with an on-groundwavefront multiplexer; the set of communication equipment includes datatransmitters to communicate with a corresponding on-ground wavefrontdemultiplexer; and wherein the data receivers process wavefrontmultiplexed (WF MUX) signal components.
 11. The roving communicationstructure of claim 10, wherein the WF MUX signal components aregenerated by the on-ground wavefront multiplexer programmed to performtransformations of orthogonal elements.
 12. The roving communicationstructure of claim 10, wherein the WF MUX signal components come fromthe on-ground wavefront multiplexer that connects to receive signals anda diagnostic code.
 13. The roving communication structure of claim 12,wherein the WF MUX signal components derive from transformations ofinput signals and a diagnostic code, wherein the transformationscomprise Butler matrix devices or Hadamard circuits.
 14. An airbornecommunication method comprising: operating a set of communicationequipment divided among airborne vehicles; using a first subset of theset of communication equipment on a first airborne vehicle to create aroving communication tower that communicates with devices in aforeground region; using retro-directive arrays onboard the airbornevehicles to transmit and receive data between the set of communicationequipment and a hub or a GBBF facility located in a background region;receiving a wavefront multiplexed (WF MUX) diagnostic code from outputsof a wavefront multiplexer; receiving WF MUX signal components from thesame outputs of the wavefront multiplexer; and wherein the WF MUXdiagnostic code is associated with a transformation of an originaldiagnostic code and communication signals.
 15. The airbornecommunication method of claim 14, wherein the transformation comprisesforming communication beams using Butler matrices or Hadamardtransforms.
 16. The airborne communication method of claim 14, whereinthe retro-directive arrays processes the received data by analog beamforming devices and by switches.
 17. The airborne communication methodof claim 14 further comprising transmitting a first data to andreceiving a second data from the foreground region using an on-boardarray antenna with multiple array elements operating in a secondfrequency band.
 18. The airborne communication method of claim 14further comprising transmitting signals from an onboard beam formingnetwork associated with a first antenna array antenna that communicateswith devices in the foreground region.
 19. The airborne communicationmethod of claim 14 further comprising receiving beam formed data fromthe GBBF facility; and relaying the beam formed data to a foregroundregion using a first antenna array that communicates with devices in theforeground region.
 20. The airborne communication method of claim 14further comprising receiving calibration signals from the GBBF facility,wherein the calibration signals compensate for distance variations amongthe airborne vehicles.